Southlake Resident Kilpatrick Facing Federal Charges

Former Detroit mayor facing federal fraud charges

Receive the latest politics updates in your inbox

DETROIT - OCTOBER 28: Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick appears in Wayne County Circuit Court for his sentencing October 28, 2008 in Detroit, Michigan. Kilpatrick will spend 4 months in jail as part of a plea deal he accepted back in September in which he plead guilty to two felonies and no contest to a felony assault charge. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Southlake resident and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was indicted Wednesday on federal fraud and tax charges for allegedly using his charity as a slush fund.

Kilpatrick is in a Michigan prison for probation violations stemming from his conviction for lying about an affair with his chief of staff.

Federal prosecutors said the alleged scheme is related to the Kilpatrick Civic Fund, a tax-exempt fund that was supposed to pay for voter education and other purposes. Instead, they accuse the former mayor of taking cash payments from the fund for himself, friends and relatives. He is charged with filing false tax returns for 2003 through 2007 and evading taxes in 2008, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors accused Kilpatrick of failing to report at least $640,000 in taxable income between 2003 and 2008, which includes money, private jet flights and personal expenses paid by the civic fund.

The government said he used the money to pay for yoga and golf lessons, golf clubs, summer camp for his kids, personal travel, moving expenses, as well as "counter-surveillance and anti-bugging equipment."

Kilpatrick spokesman Mike Paul said his family was aware that the indictment could be coming. He said it shows that after three years investigating Kilpatrick, federal officials didn't charge him with public corruption linked to his job as mayor, proving that those allegations only were rumors.

In May, a judge sentenced Kilpatrick to up to five years in prison for violating probation after he was convicted of lying under oath about the affair.